1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to personal navigation devices (PNDs), and more particularly, to a GPS management system for ensuring location information displayed on websites is not wrong even if the PND is not currently connected to the websites.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The art of knowing precisely where one is at any given moment can be accomplished with fair accuracy using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers, for example the NAVSTAR Global Positioning System (GPS) developed by the United States Department of Defense which offers comprehensive positioning satellite coverage around the globe.
A typical GPS receiver will include an antenna for receiving electrical signals transmitted by GPS satellites, and positioning circuitry for determining a position of the GPS receiver from the electrical signals, and generating corresponding position data. The antenna can be integrated into the GPS receiver, or can be connected externally through a wire. A mobile device can integrate the GPS receiver and further means for providing functions that use the position data generated by the GPS receiver.
The mobile device may include an internal map, which can be used in conjunction with the position data generated by the GPS receiver to plot a course or track the mobile device on the map. As mobile devices begin to be equipped with network interface adapters, such as GPRS modems, 3G, 3.5G, 802.11-series, and other wireless network adapters, real-time position and route information are becoming increasingly uploadable via a browser for display on various websites, for example via a map on a blog or a personal page of a social networking site, which can then be viewed over the Internet by friends or others having access to the appropriate pages of the relevant websites.
Although some websites may allow hosting of an application on the appropriate page which continuously updates the location of the user by linking to a server that is automatically uploaded the location information from the corresponding GPS receiver, this solution has some drawbacks. Firstly, some users prefer to display their current location in a way other than a specific spot on a map, perhaps as “work”, “home”, or a larger area such as a city name. The prior art solution does not offer this ability. Secondly, for security or other reasons, many of the various websites do not allow this kind of application and instead require location information to be received from a logged-on, or at least currently connected user via a browser. However, for various reasons such as not being currently connected to the various websites, the location information being displayed may be incorrect and may result in friends showing up at the incorrect location for a meeting. Lastly, the ability to prioritize location updates to the various websites is lacking also in the prior art.